International workshop for sample environment at neutron scattering facilities

SE@SF workshop.Participants of the 9th edition of the SE@SF workshop.

Participants of the 9th edition of the SE@SF workshop.

November 15, 2017 by Anke Görg (Information Manager)

To force and promote the collaboration on an international level it was necessary to establish a society, reinforced by intentions as active exchange of knowledge and experience, establishing international standards, knowledge transfer by supporting schools plus organizing further workshops.
In 2012, at the workshop held at ANSTO (Australia) the International Society for Sample Environment was officially founded (ISSE – www.sampleenvironment.org). The society offers a unique platform, internally for knowledge transfer within the international community or externally for cooperation’s with scientists, schools, suppliers or industry partners.
The first ISSE School already took place in 2015 at the ISIS Facility with great success: the maximum number of 20 participants was attained a few hours after the opening of the registrations.
The last year, in 2016, the 9th workshop was organised by the NCNR and hosted by the University of Maryland, PA (USA) from the 19th to the 22nd of September. The workshop technical session opened with updates of neutron and X-ray facilities to help newcomers from China, Korea and the USA to get an overview of the community and encourage discussions on sample environment priorities at scattering facilities. Subsequent sessions focused on robotics, cryogenics, high-pressure and gas-delivery systems, in-situ chemistry, magnetic and electric fields, and soft matter environments. The ISSE Committee for Standardisation also presented a draft of the Sample Environment Communication Protocol (SECoP) that aims to simplify the development, installation and exchange of equipment across facilities.
This is another significant step forward in expanding the knowledge and expertise sharing for the sample environment community that consists of almost 150 members that actively exchange tips and tricks and discuss the latest developments on the ISSE website forums. In November 2017, the NCNR will organise the 2nd edition of the technical school with a particular focus on soft matter environment related activities.